Paradise Alethea
by WhiteCanary5613
Summary: Kara sets Alex up on a blind date, neither of them could predict the road of discovery and self acceptance that will follow.


The soft chatter from the tables next to her helped to calm her nerves. Taking a seat at the table the waitress directed her towards, she chanced a look around the bustling restaurant & bar.

Alex preferred quaint little bars where the soft hum of music blended nicely with the delicate clanking of glass bottles being laid to rest on the bar top. The kind of bars where the lighting was just low enough that you could hide yourself away for hours and watch the world go by. The kind of bar where all the regulars knew your face but knew better than to question why you holed yourself up in a corner for hours until you couldn't see straight and nothing but the bitter taste of scotch filled your senses.

So no, ' _Paradise Alethea_ ' with its faint hum of classical music and lighting so vibrant that she was forced to paint a smile onto her face wasn't her usual place to haunt.

"Can I get you anything to drink whilst you wait ma'am,"

For a minute she's caught off guard, too busy trying to evaluate how long it would take for her to run to the nearest exit and straight for home, before the young girls inquisitive stare has her rattling off the name of the first red wine she can think of that a place like this would stock. She watches as the girl, a preppy red head who she'd guess was only here to fund her way through college, makes her way to the bar before returning and placing the large glass of Loechel Shiraz in front of her.

Taking a long sip from the glass, Alex thinks back to how she got herself into this situation in the first place.

* * *

" _I don't suppose you have plans on Friday night, do you?" Kara asks, voice steady._

" _Not that I'm aware of," Alex replies, looking back at her sister who's smiling back at her mischievously from across the kitchen island, "Why? What're you plotting?"_

" _Winn has this friend-"_

" _Winn has friends?"_

" _Alex," it's a warning, Kara's tone gentle enough that she finds herself smirking into her bottle of beer as she gestures with her free hand for Kara to continue, "As I was saying, Winn has this friend, Ben, who works in I.T. downtown who we bumped into last night. We got talking about a few things and he was telling us all about this awful date he'd had the week before and then I may have insisted that he had to meet my super attractive single older sister."_

" _you're single too?" Alex points out, lowering her beer bottle and raising an eyebrow at her sister._

" _You know I'm not interested in dating anyone at the moment after the way things ended with Mon-el and you were just telling Lena and Sam the other night about how it had been so long since you'd last gone on a date and even said yourself that you should get back out into the dating pool."_

" _I was drunk," Alex whines, "You of all people should know NEVER to take drunk Alex seriously."_

" _Alex you haven't been out with a guy since you left college, what's the harm in going for one drink?"_

" _I haven't been out since college because I don't have the time to go out, you know fine well all of my free time goes into the DEO," Alex states._

" _Alex, if I could manage to balance Cat Grant, the DEO, Mon-el and sisters night I'm absolutely positive you can manage to squeeze in one date," Kara replies, raising one eyebrow and looking at her sister with eyes that scream she's not going to back down from this conversation._

" _Look if you want me to go on a date so badly, why don't we head down to the alien bar so I can actually meet a guy myself first, why does it have to be with Winn's nerdy friend-"_

" _you're a bigger nerd than Ben,"_

" _Not the point." Alex states before taking another harsh swig from her beer._

" _Look, he seemed like a really nice guy and I think it would be good for you to just give it a shot, worst case scenario is it goes terrible and you can come over to mines for ice cream and a good moan and ill promise to never set you up again." Kara says, sending her sister her best pout and pleading look_

" _Fine," Alex sighs, ignoring her sisters light squeals at that answer and wanting nothing more than for this conversation to end, "but WHEN this goes horribly wrong I also get to pick the take out we order from."_

" _IF it goes that badly I'll even let you pick the film."_

* * *

Ten minutes pass and before she knows it ten minutes turns into twenty and she's more than halfway through her third glass of wine just to calm her nerves. Chancing another glance around the restaurant makes her wish that the floor below her would just open wide and swallow her whole. Back at the bar she'd be able to hide behind the familiarity of turning up alone. Back at the bar she'd just order a scotch and work out some of her frustration and pent-up nerves on the pool table. Not here though. Here the sympathetic glances from couples all around her and the harsh whispers are enough to make the wine she's downing stick in her throat like chalk.

She shakes her hands out in front of her below the table in the hopes that some of her built up nerves will dissipate with every shake. Alex Danvers, DEO agent, certified in over thirty different military weapons should not be this anxious over the thought of some stranger not turning up. She had been dreading this all week anyway, fed up of Kara trying to meddle with her personal life. Fed up of going home alone after yet another failed date wondering what could be so wrong with her that she can't bring herself to connect with anyone.

"I'm sorry ma'am, will you be placing an order soon?" the waitress asks breaking her out of her thoughts, silently gesturing towards the vacant seat across from her. "If not I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to move to the bar so we can use the table."

She's saved from trying to decide what will be more embarrassing, ordering a meal for one or admitting defeat and doing the solo walk of shame back out of the restaurant by someone fumbling down into the seat across from her.

"Sorry I'm late, traffic is horrific heading into town," the young woman announces before turning to the waitress with a dimpled smile, "Can you just give us a minute."

The waitress nods in the woman's direction before stuttering out an apology in Alex's direction, giving Alex a moment to recover from her thoughts.

"Hi, I'm Maggie, Maggie Sawyer." The woman says, throwing another dimpled smile in her direction. "So, what do you think of the menu, see anything you like?"

"I'm sorry, uh, Maggie, but I think you've got the wrong person."

"Is this your way of telling me that you don't like the menu?"

"No, I," Alex stumbles, staring incredulously at this woman who's smirking at her feeble attempt to reply. "I was waiting on, someone, who I don't think is going to show, I was actually just about to leave. I'm sure you're night won't be as much of a disaster though."

Maggie watches for a moment as the woman in front of her forces out a fake smile and begins to gather her belongings from the table.

"Can I let you in on a little secret?" Maggie asks, reaching out for Alex's arm before she has the chance to flag the waitress down. "My aunt actually owns this restaurant. I was waiting for her to finish up at the bar and noticed you here alone and I just, I don't think it's right for anyone to leave without at least trying the Tiramisu."

"Are you some kind of stalker, how long were you watching me for?" Alex replies, chancing a glance around the bar to see if anyone else is watching their interaction.

"Relax, if I really was a stalker then I'd be terrible at my job considering I still haven't managed to catch your name," Maggie chuckles, sitting back in her seat and looking at her pointedly. "Look, I didn't come over here to make you feel uncomfortable, I just figured you've made the effort to come all the way out here so why waste your night. Plus I have it on good authority that I make fabulous company."

"Oh yeah," Alex relaxes slightly in her seat and drops her purse back on the table. "And what sources are these reviews from exactly."

"You know, every other woman I've stalked from this bar."

At that Alex finally begins to let her guard down, chuckling at the Maggie's response and shaking her head.

"So, uh-"

"Alex, Alex Danvers," she says, giving Maggie a small smile.

"So Danvers, what do you say, dinners on me?" Maggie states, gesturing for the waitress to come back over before Alex even has a chance to respond.

* * *

Alex definitely didn't think this was how her night was going to go but she's got to admit that she's not enjoyed herself quite this much since her earlier college days. Maggie is funny and charming and gives almost as good as she gets when it comes to conversation and Alex can't help but to silently thank whatever force was responsible for causing Ben not to show. They eat together and she learns more about Maggie in one evening than she ever has about any of the 'super-friends' in the years that she's gotten to know them.

After dinner they settle in at the bar, bonding over the taste of a good scotch and horror stories from their teenage years. She finds herself telling Maggie things she hasn't even told Kara about the boys she would kick out of bed after a heavy night of drinking back at her old dorms and in turn she listens as Maggie recounts how the blonde girl over by the hosts stand left her, heart broken and alone, in front of all her aunts' staff. It's not until Kara texts to find out how her date has went and whether she should expect her to come over that she realises the time and begrudgingly starts to gather her belongings. They walk out front together, Maggie claiming she just wants to make sure she gets in a cab okay before exchanging goodbyes.

"You know, There's a great pinball bar I know, serves some good scotch, maybe we can go together some time and have some fun, you know, keep each other company?" Alex suggests, shifting nervously from one foot to the other with every word.

"You and me?" Maggie asks, cocking her head to the side, one eyebrow raised.

"Yes, why, what's wrong with that" Alex stutters, looking a little like a kicked puppy.

"Nothing," Maggie smiles softly, "I just, I think I read you wrong Danvers."

"What do you mean?"

"I, I didn't know you were into girls-"

"I'm not," Alex stops her harshly, taking a step back and looking towards the ground, the walls that had slowly broken down over dinner starting to build themselves back up.

"Oh my bad then," Maggie shrugs, "sorry"

"No, I mean no offence Maggie." Alex stammers out, shifting uncomfortably on the spot.

"Yeah, no I get it, you're not gay."

"Right." Alex states.

"You'd be surprised how many gay people id heard that from though, look I'm sorry I just thought you were angling towards something." Maggie says, waving down a passing cab and stepping aside as she watches Alex open the door and get inside. "I guess I'll just see you around Danvers."

Alex is left with her head spinning and her breath caught in her throat as Maggie closes the cab door behind her and gives her one last glance before turning to head back into the restaurant. Alex waits until she's back in the safety of her own apartment with a bottle of hard liquor before she starts to replay the conversation back in her head, her mind frantic and replaying the words 'I didn't know you were into girls' over and over again. She continues drinking and picking apart the whole conversation until Maggie's tentative voice playing over and over in her mind is the last thing she hears before her body finally succumbs to exhaustion.


End file.
